Introduction

1. The year that has passed since the last Parti Gerakan National Delegates Conference has been exciting and eventful for the country, for the BN and for our party. We are thankful for the smooth transition of leadership from Y.A.Bhg. Tun Dr. Mahathir to Y.A.B. Dato' Seri Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi and the subsequent appointment of a new Deputy Prime Minister, Y.A.B. Dato' Sri Haji Mohd. Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak. We have been encouraged by the policy focus of the new administration under Y.A.B. Dato' Seri Abdullah including his commitment to fight corruption, to improve the public delivery system and to make Malaysia a country with a First World Mentality as well as having a First World Infrastructure. We are also grateful for the rakyat for giving us the astounding victory achieved by the BN during the March general elections earlier this year. We shall continue to work hard under the leadership and guidance of Y.A.B. Dato' Seri Abdullah, implementing and delivering on our election promises with confidence that the mandate given by the people to us will be used wisely and responsibly.
   
   
2. Y.A.B. Dato' Seri, please allow me to call you 'Pak Lah' at our delegates conference because it is more endearing to us and we use this with the highest respect of your leadership and our wish to work with you for the country. With this, I would like to extend a warm and gracious welcome to 'Pak Lah' to his first Parti Gerakan National Delegates Conference as the prime minister of our great nation and as the chairman of the BN. Pak Lah, on behalf of Parti Gerakan, I would like to congratulate you on your being returned unopposed as the President of UMNO and on your successful first 10 months in office. I hope that my speech this morning entitle 'Delivering on our Promises' will put into perspective many of your achievements during this short time in office as well as pointing out some of the challenges that the BN, including GERAKAN, will face in future.
   
   
3. At the same time, I would also like to congratulate Y.A.B. the Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Chairman of the BN, Y.A.B. Dato' Sri Haji Mohd. Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak for being returned unopposed as the Deputy President of UMNO. I would also like to welcome and thank leaders of the component parties of the BN for attending our 33rd National Delegates Conference (NDC).

Pak Lah's first months in office

4. The ease of which Pak Lah has taken up the mantle of leadership from Y.A.Bhg. Tun Dr. Mahathir, has given us the reassuring feeling that he's been in office for some time. But we only need to look back ten months to remember the public excitement over the new administration and the initiatives that were announced from the PM's office soon after.
   
   
5. Pak Lah captured the hearts and minds of the general public with his genuine warmth, his humility and down-to-earth manner and his integrity as a leader. But he also won the people over quickly when he outlined his main areas of priority as prime minister.
   
   
6. I remember my own excitement when Pak Lah warned Malaysians against having a First World Infrastructure but a Third World Mentality during a breakfast speech he made to the Oxbridge society in July 2003, a theme he emphasized again during his first speech to the parliament as prime minister. Pak Lah also talked about the need to develop the 'software' of our country in terms of our attitude and skills to complement the 'hardware' that is already in existence, in terms of our physical infrastructure.
   
   
7. One of the main strategic thrusts of Pak Lah upon taking office was his unwavering commitment to fight corruption. He clearly saw the devastating effect that corruption had in both the public as well as the private sectors. He also made clear that no one, including ministers, is above the law. This is as good a time as any to remind GERAKAN leaders and members to steer clear from corrupt practices. In fact it is of paramount importance that GERAKAN leaders and members do not suffer even the taint or accusation of corruption so as to uphold the public image of the party, of the BN and of Pak Lah.
   
   
8. Pak Lah also saw a link between a poor public service delivery system and the pervasiveness of corruption. Indeed in his first address to the parliament as Prime Minister, he emphasized the need for the public service to "prioritize the people" and that they should be "clean, efficient and trustworthy, and embrace a work culture that is based on the concept of leadership by example: Pak Lah's commitment to improve the public delivery system as one way of combating corruption is an initiative that has the full backing of all GERAKAN members.
   
   
9. An important area of public service which Pak Lah identified as needing major improvements was the police force. The establishment of a Royal Commission on the Police to improve the efficiency of the police force soon after Pak Lah took office was well-received by the public.
   
   
10. Pak Lah's emphasis on fiscal prudence and his desire to balance the budget was reflected in his decision to postpone the RM14.5 billion double-tracking electrification rail-project. This met with the approval of not only the man-in-the-street but the business community as well. At the same time, Pak Lah has also ensured that government expenditure in essential areas, which is necessary to sustain economic growth and benefit the people, continues.
    
    
11. GERAKAN supports this decision wholeheartedly because of greater expenditure needs elsewhere in the economy that can provide a more immediate and direct benefit to the 'rakyat'.

The 2004 General Elections - An astounding and resounding victory

12. The fruits of Pak Lah's labor in his first 4 months or so in office were rewarded when the BN won an astounding and resounding majority in the 11th Malaysian general elections held in March this year. The BN won an unprecedented 90% of parliament seats by winning 199 out of 219 parliament seats.
    
    
13. The BN more than regained the losses we suffered in 1999. We won back Terengganu by winning 28 out of 32 state seats and all 8 parliament seats including the parliament seat held by PAS president, Hadi Awang. We nearly won back Kelantan by winning 21 out of 45 state seats, falling short by 2 seats. In fact the BN won 9 parliament seats in Kelantan, which was more than the 6 won by PAS. These results are even better than the 1995 results, which many acknowledge as the best BN electoral performance since independence, before the 2004 elections, that is.
    
    
14. PAS was devastated and are now in confusion when many of its key leaders including their president, secretary general, vice-presidents and state commissioners lost in their parliamentary bids. The headway that PAS made into Kedah, Pahang, Perak and Selangor in 1999 was severely rolled back. If not for a fluke disqualification of the BN candidate in Sengerang in Johor, PAS would not have won a single state or parliament seat outside the northern states of Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu. This was a sure sign that the electorate, especially the Malay electorate, did not want an Islamic party that is intolerant and narrow-minded to lead them but prefers the moderate and progressive Islam that is consistent with development and modernity as championed by Pak Lah.
    
    
15. Keadilan had an even poorer showing by losing all but one of the 9 seats it won during the 1999 campaign. Indeed, the BN came very close to winning the parliament seat of Permatang Pauh. This clearly shows that the people reject parties which run only on a single platform or issue in contrast with the BN which can bring to the table, a balanced and comprehensive agenda for development for all the communities represented in Malaysia.
    
    
16. Only the DAP managed to stand their ground by winning 2 additional parliament seats but even that came with some sacrifice when they lost their stronghold seat of Kota Melaka. The BN has also succeeded in driving out DAP from Penang - Pak Lah's state and Parti Gerakan's base.
    
    
17. For GERAKAN, the 2004 elections was our best electoral performance thus far. We won 10 out of 12 parliament seats and 30 out of 31 state seats. We won all the new parliament and state seats allocated to us and made some headway in the 2 parliament seats we lost. We performed especially well in Penang, winning 3 out of 4 parliament seats and all 13 state seats including wresting back the state seat of Batu Lanchang from the DAP.
    
    
18. All this is testament of the tremendous support given by the people to Pak Lah's leadership and perhaps, dare I say, surpasses the mandate that Pak Lah was looking for when he called for this elections. The people have spoken loudly and we hear their voices loud and clear.
    
    
19. The people have heard Pak Lah's call to 'work with him, not for him' and GERAKAN has heard his call as well. Pak Lah, we affirm our conviction to work alongside you all the way to achieve and implement the objectives of the BN manifesto - Cemerlang, Gemilang, Terbilang (Glory, Excellence, Distinction).

 Delivering on our promises

20. Now that the dust from the elections have settled, it is important for us to continuously evaluate and assess how much of our election promises have and are being delivered to the people at the local, state as well as national levels.
    
    
21. It is important not to be complacent and sit back and rest on our laurels after our electoral victory. Voters are becoming increasingly sophisticated and savvy and would not hesitate to vote out MPs or ADUNs who do not perform up to expectations and fail to deliver on a majority of their election promises.
    
    
22. Encouragingly, many of the initiatives announced by Pak Lah prior to the elections have continued to gain momentum after the elections.
    
    
23. The battle against corruption is continuing on the structural front by the establishment of the Public Ethics Institute which is responsible for implementing the objectives and programs of the National Integrity Plan through research, education, training and conferences.
    
    
24. The establishment of a regional Anti-Corruption center that will be coordinated by the ACA is also being carried out so as to increase the level of co-operation in the region to combat corruption.
    
    
25. The Royal Commission on the Police led by Y.A.Bhg. Tun Mohamad Dzaiddin bin Abdullah has been conducting road shows and gathering feedback across the country on ways to improve the police force and has submitted its interim 6 month report.
    
    
26. A concrete example of the improvement in the public delivery service is the speeding up of the passport application process. The waiting time has been reduced and an applicant can now collect his or her passport the day after the submission of the application.
    
    
27. But more can and needs to be done. The public must be convinced that our promise to fight corruption has not wavered and that our intent is serious. Politicians must lead by example by eschewing corruption practices and money politics. The practice of asking for bribes to approve a contract or license must be stopped. Rigorous enforcement should continue.
    
    
28. One concrete way of showing that corruption is being reduced in Malaysia is to continuously monitor Malaysia's ranking on the Transparency International Corruption Index. There should be an improvement in Malaysia's ranking in every year so that we can rank among the top 20 or even the top 10 least corrupt nations by the time the next elections are due. This will be a challenging task and will not be easy but we need to be firm and unwavering in our resolve and GERAKAN will do all in our power to support Pak Lah to achieve this goal.
    
    
29. The recent reported increase in petty crimes and murders has made crime and safety one of the most important concerns of the Rakyat. We must continue to show our utmost concern and serious commitment in fighting crimes at all levels. While the recommendations by the Royal Commission will undoubtedly help in the medium and longer term to restructure and improve the efficiency of the police force in battling crime, there are some more immediate steps in which we can take.
    
    
30. National crime and safety campaigns can be organized, more police should be deployed to certain crimes hotspots and local organizations such as resident associations and rukun tetanggas can be deployed to ensure faster reporting of crimes and better monitoring of danger areas. Our MPs and ADUNs should work hand-in-hand with the local communities, the local authorities and the local police to tackle this issue and best practices should be shared with others.
    
    
31. We must continue to be vigilant of our fiscal expenditure. This is a tricky balancing act because we must ensure that on the one hand, the timetable to balance the budget is adhered to and on the other, government expenditure for essential development projects such as the building of schools, hospitals and public utilities are not unnecessarily cut back.
    
    
32. The impetus is clearly on us in the BN to work hard and keep up the momentum post elections. There are some factors which are not within the control of the BN, such as the global economic environment, that can impact the lives of the people and our electoral prospects. Hence, we must work doubly hard to ensure that the factors that are within our control - servicing our constituencies, devising and implementing good policies - are carried out to the best of our abilities.

Re-inventing GERAKAN

33. GERAKAN continues to strive forward to face the challenges of the 21st century. We are committed to realizing the aims of the party as outlined in our booklet entitled 'GERAKAN Re-invention for the 21st century'.
    
    
34. Many of these aims were discussed at a recent leadership brainstorming held in Penang in June. They include the commitment to the Party's ideology of equality, liberty, justice, democracy, peace and national unity; to eliminate discrimination of all forms; and to promote the advancement of all Malaysians in all areas. Let us never forget these goals as we carry out our service to the nation and its peoples.
    
    
35. The meeting also reiterated that Parti Gerakan is a Malaysian Party open to all Malaysians. Although 80% of our members are of ethnic Chinese but we are not a Chinese-based Party. We use a non-racial approach towards solving the multi-racial problems in our country. We, therefore, support all national integration programmes like the National Service, Rukun Tetangga and integration programmes in schools. We believe that these will strengthen national unity and hasten the identity of a Bangsa Malaysia.
    
    
36. Programmes laid out for the Party include:

(a) expanding the party at Divisional level by increasing Branches from 12 to 18 through recruiting new members
(b) training of new members through the Satu Academy
(c) completion of Menara PGRM II
(d) obtaining the licence to start Wawasan Open University

These are programmes set up by the Party for the coming next two years. It also includes the on-going programme of increased and closer co-operation with the MCA as two significant Barisan Nasional component parties working towards the long-term goal of a merger.

37. Perhaps one of the greatest challenges to any organization including and especially a political party, is the challenge of staying relevant in an ever-changing environment. I see the need to build GERAKAN into an intelligent party through our leaders and members as a key thrust of how we as a political party can face the challenge of staying relevant.
    
    
38. Indeed, if a party is intelligent and forward thinking enough, I don't see why we cannot stay ahead of the curve by helping influence society in the way it thinks rather than just being led by the social trends.
    
    
39. As an example, even though many people were not ready to accept the notion of Bangsa Malaysia, this has been a concept that has long been inculcated by GERAKAN leaders and members, and it is a concept that GERAKAN has embraced whole-heartedly for the past 13 years ever since it was put forth as our national policy under Wawasan 2020.
    
    
40. If we push ourselves hard enough, I don't see why we cannot lead the way in other areas of social policy as well as in other areas including the use of information and communications technology and the formation of a knowledge society.
    
    
41. Many of the senior GERAKAN leaders have labored hard to build the party into what it is today. We will continue to serve the party as long as our services are still wanted. We will share our knowledge and experience with the younger and up-and-coming leaders and hopefully guide them as they take over the mantle of leadership when we step down.
    
    
42. I am thankful that the party is in good standing in terms of the next generation of young leaders. 20 out of the 40 GERAKAN 'wakil rakyats' at the MP and ADUN level are new faces. I am confident that they will work hard to serve the party and their constituents. I also urge them to continuously push themselves to learn and build themselves up so that they can effectively lead the party well into the 21st century.
    
    
43. We can expect great things from the new leadership of this country led so capably by our Prime Minister,Y.A.B. Dato' Seri Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi. We must also expect great things from the leadership and membership - both young and old - of Parti GERAKAN as we journey together in our efforts to serve the people of Malaysia in all that we do.
    
    
44. With these words, I now have great pleasure in inviting Y.A.B. Dato' Seri Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi, Prime Minister of Malaysia and Chairman of Barisan Nasional to address us and to officiate Parti Gerakan's 33rd National Delegates Conference, 2004

Thank you.